Jonny Fay
Ice Cave in Vatnajökull Glacier
This was without a doubt the best day of our trip. We went out with Einar and his son from Öræfaferðir / Local Guide Travel Service. They were both amazing, and we would highly recommend their services! Please feel free to check out the link below for more information.
For our fourth and final stop, we hiked about 5 minutes to another ice cave on Vatnajökull Glacier. This one was small in terms of corridors, as there was only one real section, but it was a massive cavern with a chocolate colored stream running through it.
This shot was taken from the back of the cave. The texture on the top of the cave was mesmerizing. I loved how the low afternoon sun created some intrigue in the sky and lit up some ice formations to the right. You can also see water dripping from the cave slowly melting all along the entrance arch way.
This shot had an incredible amount of dynamic range, from the shadows in the back of the cave to the bright sun on the water and in the sky. This required a whopping 9-stop bracketing to properly capture the dynamic range I was able to see with my eyes.
Being in these caves was unlike anything we've ever experienced. They were well insulated so it wasn't extremely cold, but the textures and formations were completely otherworldly. The ice will often take on a rich, deep blue color in these caves. However, we were told that because it was a bright and sunny day, that blue became more of the aqua/teal type color you see here.
Interestingly, due to the constant changing of the glaciers and temperature changes, these ice caves are rarely ever around for more than a couple of weeks at a time. You can go back every year and have a completely different experience every time. We were told that the ice caves we enjoyed, for example, were gone within a week of our visit. This cave in particular, had partially collapsed the day before we entered it, so we only got to see about 2/3 of the cave they had intended on showing us.
Nikon D800
14-24mm f/2.8 Lens
9-Exposure HDR bracketed at 1-stop, on a Gitzo Tripod with a remote trigger release, blended in Photomatix
Ice Cave in Vatnajökull Glacier
This was without a doubt the best day of our trip. We went out with Einar and his son from Öræfaferðir / Local Guide Travel Service. They were both amazing, and we would highly recommend their services! Please feel free to check out the link below for more information.
For our fourth and final stop, we hiked about 5 minutes to another ice cave on Vatnajökull Glacier. This one was small in terms of corridors, as there was only one real section, but it was a massive cavern with a chocolate colored stream running through it.
This shot was taken from the back of the cave. The texture on the top of the cave was mesmerizing. I loved how the low afternoon sun created some intrigue in the sky and lit up some ice formations to the right. You can also see water dripping from the cave slowly melting all along the entrance arch way.
This shot had an incredible amount of dynamic range, from the shadows in the back of the cave to the bright sun on the water and in the sky. This required a whopping 9-stop bracketing to properly capture the dynamic range I was able to see with my eyes.
Being in these caves was unlike anything we've ever experienced. They were well insulated so it wasn't extremely cold, but the textures and formations were completely otherworldly. The ice will often take on a rich, deep blue color in these caves. However, we were told that because it was a bright and sunny day, that blue became more of the aqua/teal type color you see here.
Interestingly, due to the constant changing of the glaciers and temperature changes, these ice caves are rarely ever around for more than a couple of weeks at a time. You can go back every year and have a completely different experience every time. We were told that the ice caves we enjoyed, for example, were gone within a week of our visit. This cave in particular, had partially collapsed the day before we entered it, so we only got to see about 2/3 of the cave they had intended on showing us.
Nikon D800
14-24mm f/2.8 Lens
9-Exposure HDR bracketed at 1-stop, on a Gitzo Tripod with a remote trigger release, blended in Photomatix